Northampton product Laura Rycek recently qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships, placing 11th in the javelin at Indiana University’s Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex. The Bucknell senior recorded a throw of 152 feet, 1 inch at the NCAA East Preliminaries to clinch a spot in the national championships.

Rycek becomes just the third Bison on the women’s side to qualify for the NCAA Championships in track and field. She joins Melanie Buczko and Maria Garcia who advanced in the pole vault and hammer, respectively, in 2004. It was Rycek’s third attempt at a national berth. The 11th-place showing topped her previous best of 19th as a freshman.

“It feels amazing to be going to nationals,” Rycek said. “I have been trying to qualify for four years and I finally accomplished it.”

Rycek will have one more opportunity to cap off an already impressive season for the Bucknell women’s javelin throwers. She has the Bucknell javelin record, set at 158-7 in her victory at the Patriot League meet this spring.

The NCAA Championships are June 8-11 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Rycek will throw at 3:05 p.m.on Thursday, June 9.

Also competing is Easton product Chanelle Price. The University of Tennessee junior will run the 800 at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 8.

The heart and soul of the Lehigh women’s basketball team has graduated.

Guess who the Mountain Hawks recruited?

Guards.

Three of them.

Gone but not forgotten is Erica Prosser, one of the best players in the program’s history. The two-time Patriot League player of the year was instrumental in Lehigh’s three consecutive 20-win seasons and three consecutive postseason appearances.

The three new faces are: Mary Jo Horgan, Sarah Williams and Katie O’Reilly.

“We feel this is a group of guards who will fit very well into our Lehigh system of play,” Troyan said. “All three guards bring versatility to their positions, they can all contribute at both ends of the floor, and they all come from highly successful high school programs that have traditionally been one of the best in their states. We expect all of them to make strong contributions to our program and to help in building on the current success of our program.”

Horgan will be one of several players asked to fill the void left by Prosser. A 5-foot-8 combo guard, Horgan starred four Mount St. Joseph Academy outside Philadelphia. A first team Class 4A all-state selection as a senior, Horgan was named 2011 Southeastern Pennsylvania Girls Player of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Girls Player of the Year by the Times-Herald. A four-year varsity performer and two-year captain, Horgan averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 steals and 3.2 assists per game as a senior and finished her career with 1,086 career points. As a senior, Horgan led Mount St. Joseph Academy to a 28-4 record, a District I championship and a berth in the Elite Eight at the state tournament. Off the court, Horgan is a league all-star field hockey performer with a 3.64 GPA.

“Mary Jo is a tough nosed, competitive guard who knows how to win,” Troyan said. “She’s coming off an outstanding senior year where she helped her team win league and district titles, while going deep into the state tournament. Not only is Mary Jo a winner, but she is a relentless worker and competitor with a high level of personal drive, we’re excited for her to bring these qualities to our program.”

O’Reilly is a 5-11 wing player from New Jersey high school powerhouse St. John Vianney. A 1,000 point scorer and McDonalds All-American nominee, O’Reilly averaged 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals per game, and shot 87 percent from the free throw line. O’Reilly earned numerous All-Division, All-County and All-Shore honors in her high school career and was twice named to the non-public school All-State team. St. John Vianney was 113-15 in O’Reilly’s four years with four conference championships and four non-public school state titles. In 2010, O’Reilly was named Most Valuable Player in the New Jersey State Championship Game and the MVP of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, which St. John Vianney won. MSG Varsity ranked O’Reilly sixth on its list of top 100 players in the state of New Jersey. A four-year honor roll student, O’Reilly is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and the National Society of High School Scholars.

“Katie is a versatile athlete who comes from an outstanding high school program where she has had a high level of personal and team success,” Troyan said. “She is a talented player who has the ability to play the wing and small forward positions.

“Her strengths are her willingness and desire to play both ends of the floor, her versatility to defend at multiple positions, and her versatility to score in many ways – on the perimeter, in transition, and around the basket. We’re very excited for what she will bring to our program and feel like she will be a great fit with our style of play.”

Williams, a 5-9 combo guard from Fenwick High School in Illinois, rounds out the incoming class. She came into her own during her senior season as she earned All-Area, All-Conference, and eventually third team All-State honors in 2011, while also being selected as a McDonalds All-America nominee. Williams was an All-Tournament Team selection at the Niles North Thanksgiving Tournament and Dundee Crown Christmas Tournament in both her junior and senior seasons. She was a major contributor to the success of the Fenwick program, which won four regional titles and three sectional titles, while finishing third in the state in 2010. In the classroom, Williams is a four-year honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society.

“Sarah is an outstanding athlete who comes from a very strong high school program with a rich tradition of success at Fenwick High School,” Troyan said. “She’s coming off a very strong senior season where she led her team to the sectional finals. Sarah possesses a high level of personal drive and commitment, we expect her to make contributions at both the shooting guard and point guard positions this season, and look forward to the qualities she will bring to our team.”

The three newcomers join a group of 12 returnees for the Mountain Hawks, who were 21-11 a year ago and qualified for the WNIT. Lehigh, winners of the last three Patriot League regular season titles, made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009-10.

It has been all of a day or so since Ed DeChellis left as the Penn State men’s basketball coach and a name has surfaced as a potential candidate for the job.

Hint No. 1: His current title is Senior Development officer in the Leadership Gifts department.

Hint No. 2: He is working in that position at a university just an hour’s drive east of University Park.

Hint No. 3: He’s coached a visiting school several games at the Bryce Jordan Center.

OK, pretty obvious to those familiar with Patriot League basketball.

Former Bucknell coach Pat Flannery could throw his name into the pile of resumes for the job at Penn State.

Flannery was a super fundraiser while also serving as the Bison’s coach. But his real passion is basketball.

He is an outstanding bench coach and recruiter. He is demanding. He is demonstrative. He has an impressive resume.

He led his alma mater to back-to-back NCAA Tournament first-round wins in 2005-06, still the only Patriot League team to win one NCAA game. He previously won a Division III national title at Lebanon Valley.

Flannery retired from Bucknell after the 2008 season after several bouts with stress. He and his wife, Patti, have two teenage sons whom he has coached throughout their youth. Spending time with them was a major reason for him stepping down.

He was 234-178 in his 14 years in charge of Bucknell’s program. The 2006 program finished the season ranked in the AP top 25. The Bison won three regular-season titles under Flannery, who took the program to new heights a short time after Bucknell approved athletic scholarships.

Flannery has attended a smattering of Bucknell games in the last three years.

DeChellis left Penn State for another Patriot League school, Navy, a few weeks after former Midshipmen boss Billy Lange returned to Villanova to be Jay Wright’s associate head coach.

Penn State never was a consistent winner under DeChellis, though there were high points. But the Nittany Lions lost their best player (Talor Battle) to graduation and don’t have a lot of returning talent to be Big Ten contenders in 2011-12.

Does Flannery, now 53, want to go to a program that needs to be rebuilt?

Does Penn State want to take a risk on a 53-year-old coach with past stress-related health issues?

Probably more the former than the latter.

Perhaps if this were five years earlier...

The Lions likely want an up-and-comer, someone with youth and enthusiasm on his side.

One thing is for sure: With the summer recruiting season around the corner, look for PSU to act fast.

Six Southern Lehigh football players recently committed to play at the college level:

Linebacker Ray Durkin is headed to Dickinson.

Linemen Dan Ortwein and David Givler along with running backs/linebackers Luke and Matt Gotzon are headed to Moravian.

Receiver/defensive back Keaton Eisenhauer is going to Salve Regina University.

Those six will be honored as part of a spring luncheon today at Southern Lehigh

And, standout wide receiver Jeff Smillie is going to Duquesne, where he’ll try to make it as a walk-on as a sophomore.

Durkin was a Morning Call All-Area selection after setting school records for single-season tackles (151) and career tackles (271). He had 10 sacks and 22 tackles for loss as a senior.

Smillie also was a Morning Call All-Area selection as a senior after setting five school records: single-game receiving yardage (174), single-season receiving yards (894), career receptions 116), career receiving TDs (18) and career receiving yards (1,674).

Luke Gotzon joined the list of 1,000-yard rushers at Southern Lehigh after running for 1,029 yards. The first-team all-Colonial League pick at outside linebacker had 71 tackles, 15 for loss (including six sacks), two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Givler and Ortwein were first-team all-Colonial League picks as offensive linemen. Ortwein also had 64 tackles on defense, including six for loss (three sacks), and one fumble recovery.

Eisenhauer ran for five touchdowns and had 41 tackles and three interceptions on defense.

Coach John Toman’s Spartans became the first in school history to win a district playoff game when they beat host Pottsville in a District 11 Class 3A semifinal. Southern Lehigh then lost to eventual state champion Central Catholic in the district final.

Chanelle Price was chosen as the Southeastern Conference Women’s Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

Price, an Easton High product, tied with Auburn distance runner Holly Knight. Price follows in the footsteps of former teammates Sarah Bowman in 2008-09 and Phoebe Wright in 2010. The junior has a 3.92 grade point average in journalism and electronic media. On the track, she swept the SEC indoor and outdoor 800m championships this season.

The six-time All-American and 11-time SEC scorer also contributed to UT’s SEC meet record-setting distance medley relay unit indoors in 2011 and ran a leg on the Lady Vols’ seventh-place outdoor 4x400m relay unit. At the national level this season, she finished sixth in the 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships and handled a leg on the eighth-place DMR quartet. She also ran on the school’s NCAA champion DMR tandems in 2009 and 2010 and the SEC champion DMR in 2010.

Price, who has been part of two world records, three American- and collegiate-best marks, four UT bests and an SEC record on relays, ranks No. 6 all-time outdoors at UT in the 800 with a lifetime-best mark of 2:01.33. She is fourth indoors at 2:03.12.

Price remains the National Federation of High Schools record holder in the 800, running a 2:02.90 at the PIAA Championships on May 24, 2008. She also ran a 2:01.61 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on June 8, 2008. No one in the area has come within six seconds of her state gold-medal winning time.

Another damp day forced the lone opening-round game of the District 11 baseball playoffs to be postponed from Monday till Tuesday.

That means I've had a little more time to look over the field and ponder my picks. Here they are.

Class 4A

Parkland has the top seed and will face the winner of the first-round game between Pocono Mountain East and Easton on Wednesday. The Trojans played well down the stretch, beating Nazareth twice and pulling off an impressive sweep of Emmaus and Nazareth in the LVC tournament Saturday. I see the Trojans returning to the district final for a third straight year.

Who will they face? Nazareth, which will get past Pleasant Valley and Northampton, which will have the edge of facing a Stroudsburg team in the quarterfinals that played Saturday and Sunday in the Mountain Valley Conference playoffs.

I'll go with Nazareth to edge Parkland in the title game, leaving each team with one major title and a split of their four meetings this season.

Class 3A

I'm not sure any of the Colonial League teams have the firepower to emerge in a field where Blue Mountain, Central Catholic and Lehighton are the top three seeds.

A few weeks ago I would have taken Lehighton to repeat, but the Indians scuffled late in the year. Because of that, I'll go with Blue Mountain and Central Catholic in the title game.

David Rosenberger's lack of work late in the year makes me wonder whether he'll be sharp enough to lift the Vikings to a gold medal. That uncertainty has me leaning toward Blue Mountain as the district champion.

Class 2A

Pen Argyl received a huge bonus by winning the Colonial League title, earning a bye into Thursday's semifinals. The Green Knights will have the opportunity to rest their staff after playing two games Saturday in the league playoffs, making them a clear pick to reach next week's title game.

Who will await Pen Argyl? I'll take Northern Lehigh to reach the title game, setting up a rematch of the Colonial League final.

I'll go with Northern Lehigh flipping the result of its league final and winning a district crown by beating Pen Argyl for the third time in four meetings this season.

Class A

I haven't had a chance to see any of the Class A teams play this year, but it's hard not to like top seed Pius X.

The Royals have an experienced roster back from last year's team that reached the PIAA Class A semifinals and are the lone team in the bracket that won't play a quarterfinal game. Look for them as the only team to claim back-to-back district titles next week at Coca-Cola Park.

In a shocking move, Ed DeChellis has left Penn State to become Navy’s 19th men’s basketball coach.

DeChellis replaces Billy Lange, who left to return to Villanova to be Jay Wright’s associate head coach.

“To have one of the most highly respected coaches and educators in the sport join our Navy family is a great day for the program and the Academy,” Navy AD Chet Gladchuk said. “Ed's maturity, integrity, character and accomplishments at Penn State have made him one of the most respected role models in the coaching ranks. His career is all about building programs with educational priorities in place, including graduating every senior that has ever played for him, and in the end achieving team goals that resonate with competing for championships. Ed will make a positive and impactful impression on Navy Basketball in short order.”

The 52-year-old DeChellis has a 222-232 career record at East Tennessee State (105-93) and Penn State (117-139). The 1982 PSU grad led the Nittany Lions to a 19-15 record last season, 9-9 in the Big Ten.

In his 15 seasons as a head coach, every one of his seniors has graduated.

“I'm thrilled and honored to be the next head basketball coach at the United States Naval Academy,” DeChellis said. “My wife and girls are excited to be a part of the Navy family and this is the perfect opportunity for me because I believe in the core values of the Academy. We fell in love with Annapolis and the Academy when we came and visited and we look forward to being part of a place so steeped in tradition. I look forward to the challenge of not only winning the Patriot League Championship and taking Navy back to the NCAA Tournament, but also helping young men become future leaders of this great nation of ours. I look forward to meeting the players and talking to the recruits and starting the process of getting Navy Basketball back on the national stage.”

Lange resigned May 9 to return to Villanova. He was 92-115 in his seven seasons at Navy.

The Midshipmen are in the midst of a 10-year stretch in which they haven’t won a Patriot League tournament game.

Navy is the second Patriot League men's basketball program to get a new head coach this spring. Matt Langel replaced Emmett Davis at Colgate. Langel spent the last five years as an assistant at Temple. Davis spent 13 years in charge in Hamilton, N.Y.

Morning Call Sports Reporters Stephen Miller and Tom Housenick blog about high school and college sports action on and off the field in and around the Lehigh Valley, only at themorningcall.com.

Meet the bloggers

TOM HOUSENICK watches every move Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum makes on the court, laughs at every joke by Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon and watches all the Divisions II and III coaches and players do it for the love of the game. Basketball makes the cold weather season go by fast. Already can’t wait for late February and early March when each possession could result in a season ending or continuing on.

Wrapping up his ninth year at The Morning Call, STEPHEN MILLER is back for year No. 4 on the LVC football beat. He chronicled Central Catholic's state-championship run in 2010, watched Nazareth win its first LVC title in 2011 and saw the league crown tri-champions for the first time in 2012. He has also covered the Phillies, college football and a variety of prep sports while with The Morning Call. To stay updated on the 2013 LVC football season, check out the Varsity blog and follow him on Twitter @mcall_smiller.